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Last week, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a staff recommendation that the agency serve as public sponsor for a $750,000 Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission grant for a CSX Transportation project in Columbus.

CSXT plans to lower tracks underneath a downtown Columbus bridge to enable double-stack trains to pass through the area. The route would save 41 miles for the railroad, divert up to 70,000 long-haul truck trips from state highways and “breathe new life” into a west-side Columbus rail yard, according to ORDC. The grant would leverage $250,000 in CSXT funds for the project.

The commission also approved a $125,000 grant to help leverage funds from Norfolk Southern Railway to build a new switch and rehabilitate a rail spur at a vacant south Columbus plant. The project will enable Phoenix-based ITC to establish a manufacturing operation in the vacant facility.

In addition, ORDC approved:
• a resolution to serve as public sponsor for a CSXT grant from the Federal Highway Administration to help fund a $98 million phase of the National Gateway double-stack intermodal route initiative;
• the use of up to $24,933 remaining from the Richland Tunnel project on the city of Jackson-owned rail line for cutting back vegetation, repairing derailment damage and other trackwork; and
• a letter of modification with the city of Lima that will enable the defunct Eastern Ohio Ethanol Plant to be reopened by PEA Lima L.L.C.